hydrothermal vents

A thermodynamic analysis of more than 400 chemical reactions that likely took place in the ancestor of all life finds most would spontaneously occur at hydrothermal vents, thanks to the hydrogen these geological formations emit.

The first evidence of biologically produced elemental carbon inspires more questions than answers.  

The material, now part of an African mountain range, bolsters the idea that hydrothermal veins supported early forms of life.

As the only woman who has piloted the deep-ocean research submersible Alvin, Van Dover is among the few researchers to have explored hydrothermal vents firsthand.

A love of the ocean lured Nicole Dubilier into science; gutless sea worms and their nurturing bacterial symbionts keep her at the leading edge of marine microbiology.

Meet the digestive tract–lacking oligochaete that has fueled Max Planck researcher Nicole Dubilier’s interest in symbiosis and marine science.

Take a tour of deep-sea methane seeps and meet the organisms that call these extreme environments home.

DNA and RNA sequences from Lake Vostok below the Antarctic glacier reveal thousands of bacteria species, including some commonly found in fish digestive systems.

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Galápagos Rift revealed a biological Garden of Eden.

See some of the images brought up from early trips to the Galápagos Rift, where an ecosystem thrives around hydrothermal vents.